Table of Contents
CK Hutchison Holdings Ltd., the flagship of Hong Kong billionaire Li Ka-shing's family, denied on Nov. 12 that it has suspended plans to list AS Watson Group, its health and beauty retail arm, after reports that the long-awaited share sale had been shelved sent its stock lower.
CK Hutchison shares fell more than 3% in Hong Kong on Nov. 12 and slipped below HK$70 ($9) as investors reacted to the reports. The company said no decision has been made on the listing, repeating the position it has held since the summer.
The AS Watson listing is one of the most closely watched deals in Hong Kong. The plan is for a dual listing in Hong Kong and London that would value the retailer at about $30 billion and raise about $2 billion for CK Hutchison. Temasek Holdings Pte, the Singapore state investor that owns about a quarter of AS Watson, would also sell part of its stake.
A plan that keeps slipping
The listing was first expected as early as the second quarter of this year, with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and UBS Group AG hired to work on it. In early October it emerged that the dual listing had been pushed back to 2027, mainly because of Chinese regulatory procedures. The application has been cleared by the China Securities Regulatory Commission but still needs approval from China's cybersecurity regulator.
In July, CK Hutchison said "no decision has been made on an IPO of AS Watson or its timing."
AS Watson runs thousands of stores across Asia and Europe under brands including Watsons, Superdrug, Savers, Kruidvat and ICI Paris XL. CK Hutchison's other businesses span ports, telecommunications and infrastructure.
Unlocking value
A listing would let the Li family put a public price on one of its most valuable assets. The group has been looking to unlock value across its businesses, including a plan announced in 2025 to sell most of its overseas ports to a group led by BlackRock Inc. and Mediterranean Shipping Co., a deal that drew objections from Beijing.
Li, 98, built the business from a plastic flower factory he started in Hong Kong in 1950 into a global conglomerate. He retired as chairman in 2018 and handed control to his elder son, Victor Li, who now chairs both CK Hutchison and property developer CK Asset Holdings Ltd. Li Ka-shing remains Hong Kong's richest man.
Figures were converted at HK$7.78 to the dollar.
The intelligence satisfies curiosity. The paid briefings satisfy strategy.
Every Monday, Elite subscribers receive an Investor Memo breaking down the deal, the structure and the positioning behind the week's most consequential African wealth story — the kind of analysis that doesn't appear anywhere else.
Twice a month, a Wealth Intelligence brief profiles a single billionaire's holdings, cash flows and expansion pipeline in detail no public source matches.
→ Executive ($25/mo): Daily newsletter + Deep-Dive Reports
→ Elite ($75/mo): Everything above + Investor Memos + Wealth Intelligence + Quarterly Analyst Briefings
Subscribe now
